Acclaimed Canadian artist John Hartman heard a story on a visit to Banff, AB. It was a story about four young men that humbly did what others before them had failed to do. This is a short film about how that story consumed his thoughts to the point that he has painted an entire exhibition about it. This short documentary is meant to accompany the exhibition and shine light on his creative process as he explores a new idea and turns this exploration into large and dynamic oil paintings.

This is the story of something old that exists in a new world. A story about adapting traditions and recognizing their use before they are forgotten. But this is not a story about living in the past.

Keepers of the Trail is a documentary film by David Hartman that follows a group of nine winter travellers as they walk north between Canada’s two great rail lines. The group travels by traditional methods handed down by those who used this land to survive. These methods have been developed and fine-tuned for centuries and they simply work better than anything else in this landscape. Garrett Conover is an underground legend among those who still travel the Boreal Forest in this manner. Keepers of the Trail silently witnesses him passing on the torch to the next generation as the group navigates a harsh and beautiful winter environment.

Click here to watch the film. Or watch from trailer above or shiny Vimeo On Demand button below.

What started as a film about a 1000 km bike ride quickly turned into something much more significant. The Georgian Bay Cancer Support Centre asked me to make a film about Mike Dupuis as he rode solo on a tandem bike around Goergian Bay with a life-size stick figure on his back seat. We set out to communicate the importance of a strong support network when dealing with a cancer diagnosis. The story took on a life of its own when I asked a close friend of mine to help me understand this process.

THE GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIP

This idea came, as most good things do, as a spur of the moment decision. I had always wanted to see the American South, so when my partner Ashley asked me to drive her new car from Vancouver to Toronto with her we opted to take a 10,000 km scenic route instead. Good way to break in a car right?See the photos and read the story.